Sarah leaves on Tuesday
PHILIPSBURG--Constitutional Affairs Commissioner William Marlin left for The Hague on Sunday to attend the final Kingdom Political Steering Group PSG meeting and the final Round Table Conference (RTC) – the last steps in the quest for country-within-the-Dutch-Kingdom status for St. Maarten.
The date for country status is set for 10-10-10, but this week's meetings will determine exactly how ready St. Maarten and Curaçao are for their new status. Both islands completed on Saturday compliance with the criteria set by the Dutch Government as the yardstick by which their readiness will be judged.
The Island Council of St. Maarten adopted on Saturday the final organic law that stems from articles in the Constitution of Country St. Maarten. On the same day the Curaçao Island Council passed its country constitution on its second try.
Speaking in the Island Council, Marlin said the St. Maarten delegation would comprise opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader/former constitutional affairs commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams, Project Director for Country St. Maarten Dennis Richardson, and advisors Eugene Holiday and Richard Gibson Sr.
Wescot-Williams will depart on Tuesday and will reach The Hague in time for the RTC on Thursday. Richardson is already in The Hague for preparatory meetings and in the meantime has been joined by Holiday and Gibson Sr.
Marlin said that as soon as he landed in the Netherlands on Monday he would go to the final PSG meeting with the Dutch, Netherlands Antilles, and Curaçao governments. The Dutch Second Chamber has its last debate on Tuesday on the change to the Kingdom Charter that brings the two new countries into being.
Marlin referred to the final RTC as "more of a ceremonial closure" when the final decision on the country status will be signed off on.
National Alliance (NA) Island Councilman Rodolphe Samuel had questioned what would happen to St. Maarten's quest should the new Curaçao government decide it no longer wanted to continue with the constitutional change process as is.
Marlin replied that a change of mind on Curaçao's part would pose a problem for St. Maarten, but the local delegation would stand firm that St. Maarten's people had waited 10 years for country status voted for in the June 23, 2000, referendum. "St. Maarten has put everything in motion and the people of St. Maarten expect we will become country on 10-10-10. There is no turning back. Where will we be turning back to?"
He pointed out that some Central Government tasks had been transferred to St. Maarten already and others were in the process of being transferred, together with Central Government personnel. Should Curaçao pull out of the process, the Dutch Government will have "to make provisions for Curaçao to be governed until they make up their mind."
"I don't want to spend too much energy or time on this. I don't want to make it St. Maarten's problem. We have negotiated in good faith. We hope to return home with the documents that grant St. Maarten country status," Marlin said.
Country status, he reminded the population, is "not the end of the road. It is a new beginning. It's like a baby just born, but with knowledge and experience and still more to learn to grow into a healthy and strong nation."
Marlin thanked all Island Council members who had served during the past 10 years, and civil servants and advisory teams that had been integral to the preparation for country status. He also thanked the media for providing information to the public on the constitutional change process.
Samuel asked Marlin to list the names of members of the delegation to The Hague, because he wanted to know whether "certain" party leaders who were vying to become the first prime minister of Country St. Maarten in the early Island Council elections on September 17 were also part of the delegation.
Of the four parties in the election race, DP and NA are represented in the delegation. The other two parties in the race are Concordia Political Alliance (CPA) led by Jeffrey Richardson and United People's (UP) party headed by Commissioner Theo Heyliger.
Heyliger is the only one eligible to be part of the delegation, as he is an independent member of the Island Council, thus considered a separate faction/party. However, he declared at his party's public meeting on Kim Sha Beach that he was "not invited to go to Holland."
